Presents a study which examined the effectiveness of the contract
bridge game in strengthening the human immune system. Definition of
dorsolateral cortex and its role in the human immune system; Methodology
of the study; Results and discussion.
By
Gabriel Berezin, published on March 01, 2001
DISEASE
FIGHTING OFF A COLD? TRY DEALING OUT A HAND OF BRIDGE. NEW RESEARCH
SUGGESTS THAT THE TYPES OF MENTAL TASKS THE GAME REQUIRES MAY WORK TO
STRENGTHEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.
According to Marian Diamond, Ph.D., an integrative biology
professor at the University of California at Berkeley, the dorsolateral
cortex--part of the brain associated with strategy and working
memory--may communicate with the immune system. Initially, Diamond
studied mice that were missing their thymus glands, which are essential
in developing the body's immune system. She learned that mice without
these glands had thinner dorsolateral cortexes than those of normal mice,
and they could not properly produce immune cells. Wondering if the
dorsolateral cortex plays a rote in the human immune system, Diamond
asked three groups of women to play contract bridge, a game that requires
planning ahead, sequencing numbers, judgment and working memory--all
brain functions that involve the dorsolateral cortex.
After closely monitoring their immune response through out an hour
of bridge-playing, Diamond learned that two of the three groups of women
showed a marked increase of disease-fighting CD4 T cells, while women who
simply listened to soft music and chatted for an hour showed no surge in
their immune systems. "This part of the cortex deals with higher
cognitive processing, possibly allowing the individual to have some
voluntary control of his or her well-being" Diamond says.
Tags:
brain,
brain functions,
california at berkeley,
human immune system,
immune cells,
immune response,
immune system,
immune systems,
judgment,
Memory,
mental tasks,
soft music,
strategy,
university of california at berkeley,
working memory
